The Detroit Pistons have a deep roster this season after moving on from Greg Monroe and attempting to replace him with several players. Two fifths of their starting lineup is locked in as Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson will start at center and point guard respectively. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ersan Ilyasova look like good bets to start at shooting guard and power forward respectively which leaves small forward as the biggest question mark heading into the season. Stanley Johnson and Marcus Morris are the two guys battling it out for that spot but as of right now it appears Morris has a slight edge, according to Keith Langlois of NBA.com.
Johnson was the Pistons first round pick this year and they have reportedly been very impressed with him this offseason. Johnson figures to play a prominent role regardless of whether he starts or not but he still has a shot to be out there for the opening tip. Johnson is the long-term starter for Detroit at small forward but Morris may be the best option to start for now.
Morris has played both small and power forward in his NBA career and he certainly shoots the ball well enough to be able to handle the wing exclusively as he is a career 36 percent three point shooter. Morris has good size at 6 foot-9 for the position and he and Ilyasova should help stretch the floor to give Drummond more room down low and Jackson more room to drive the lane.
Marcus is the worse of the two Morris twins but he is still a solid player that should bring a lot to the Pistons. Aside from his shooting he is also a good rebounder, especially for a small forward, and is adequate defensively. Head coach Stan Van Gundy said that his initial thought is to start Morris over Johnson but that he hasn't decided yet.
"I'll do whatever I think is best for the team. I'm not really settled in on anything right now. But certainly headed into it I would look at Marcus, but we'll see how it goes," said Van Gundy.
Morris isn't the crazy athlete with tremendous upside that Johnson is but he is a steady NBA player that has been a big contributor in the league before. It makes sense to start Morris at the beginning of the year to let Johnson get his feet wet coming off the bench. If Johnson plays so well during the season that he forces his way into the starting lineup than a change can always be made but for now Morris has proven he can play in the NBA at a high level and once Johnson does that he will be in the starting lineup.
